• The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has confirmed that Meta has received a $1.3 billion fine, which is the largest the EU has issued on record.
• The fine has been issued for the EU user data that Facebook has gathered and has been sending back to the US.
• Facebook plans to appeal the decision, and could threaten to remove its services from the region.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Monday just got a whole lot worse as Meta has been slapped with a $1.3 billion fine by regulators in the EU.

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) confirmed earlier today that the fine issued to Meta was for the user data transferring practices of Facebook, following an inquiry into the service by the Irish Data Protection Authority (IE DPA).

“This fine, which is the largest GDPR fine ever, was imposed for Meta’s transfers of personal data to the U.S. on the basis of standard contractual clauses (SCCs) since 16 July 2020. Furthermore, Meta has been ordered to bring its data transfers into compliance with the GDPR,” the EDPB noted in a press statement.

“The EDPB found that Meta IE’s infringement is very serious since it concerns transfers that are systematic, repetitive and continuous. Facebook has millions of users in Europe, so the volume of personal data transferred is massive. The unprecedented fine is a strong signal to organisations that serious infringements have far-reaching consequences,” added Andrea Jelinek, EDPB Chair.

As The Verge points out, this fine stems from complaints that surfaced as far back as 2013, which is when Edward Snowden blew the whistle on Facebook’s data practices.

Meta plans to appeal the decision, especially as the company has outlined just how important data transferring is to its business. This as it is reliant on user data to fuel its ad targeting, adding that 10 percent of its revenue would be impacted by a suspension of data flow from the EU earlier this year.

“Without the ability to transfer data across borders, the internet risks being carved up into national and regional silos, restricting the global economy and leaving citizens in different countries unable to access many of the shared services we have come to rely on. That’s why providing a sound legal basis for the transfer of data between the EU and the US has been a political priority on both sides of the Atlantic for many years,” wrote Nick Clegg, president of Global Affairs at Meta in a blog post responding to the fine.

“We are appealing these decisions and will immediately seek a stay with the courts who can pause the implementation deadlines, given the harm that these orders would cause, including to the millions of people who use Facebook every day,” he added.

While it remains to be seen what the appeals process will yield, it will be interesting to see what lengths Meta will go to in order to continue its data flow out of the EU. Last year the company hinted that it may have to pull its services out of the region should a suspension like this occur, but it looks like EU regulators are more than happy to play chicken with the tech giant.

We have already seen the likes of Australia acquiesce, but will the EU hold stronger?

Either way, this $1.3 billion fine is the latest episode in Meta’s GDPR woes.

“There is no immediate disruption to Facebook because the decision includes implementation periods that run until later this year. We intend to appeal both the decision’s substance and its orders including the fine, and will seek a stay through the courts to pause the implementation deadlines,” concluded Clegg.

[Image – Photo by Dima Solomin on Unsplash]